Jasper Republican, Volume 1, Number 1, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 September 1874 — Interesting Facts About the Oyster. [ARTICLE]

Interesting Facts About the Oyster.

The oyster is a universal! &vorite, as i ought to be. A good way to get at the truth about oysters is just to imagine for a moment that the whole crop was a failure this year, and jh that case what a terrible: gloom would overspread the city, and what a winter be in store for us! But fortunately the crop this year promises to" tie an excellent one. Reports from all the plantations are fully assuring that never for many years has there been so fruitful h fecundation, so great a thriving of the juveniles and so sturdy a development of the “ three-year-olds.” Hence there is cause for rejoicing, and at the present moment toe may in imaeination look along the shores of the East River, 14 Long Island Sound, along the rivers of Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, away to North Carolina, down in Baltimore and Virginia, and we shall see the plantations swarming with the crusty shells and count thousands and thousands of men, women and children all earning a livelihood by the production, tending and transporting 'of this fish that never moves. Most people know that the oyster is “ raised” for us with the same amount of care and with something like the precautions with which other productions are obtained in large quantities. Oysters are first taken from their natural beds; that is, they are caught at various places as other fish are caught. But the supply gained in this way would be entirely .inadequate to meet the extraordinary demand were it not that the. oystermen have recourse to the plantations. The planting is done by selecting several acres of water at favorable spots near the shore, into - which the oysters are thrown to spawn, and where, consequently, the crop is raised. The egg of the oyster is something like that of the fish; it spatters outy and rises -to the surface, but soon settles down, catching upon the first substance it meets below. The egg will grow upon a block of wood, or a stone, or almost any hard substance. Oystermen, however, frequently throw into this plantation some thousands of shells, well dried and whitened and split by the action of the sun, and this method is considered the most favorable to the growth of the oyster In about two or three weeks the egg has become about the size of a three-cent piece. It ceases to grow in cold weather, and sometimes the water may become too cold for it to live at all. In the spring it grows rapidly. Old and experienced wholesale oyster dealers say that the oyster is fit for the market after three yews’ growth, and, in fact, that the oysters yearly presented for sale are rarely over that age. Others, however, say that the oyster has not reached its full maturity until it is seven years old.

It is difficult to make even an approximate estimate of the total number of oysters consumed in this city each day of the nine months of the oyster season. >Old and experienced oystermen refuse even to guess at the figures. The following may give an idea, so far as the oyster saloons go, of the consumption daily when the season is at its height, not including the consumption in hotels or ordinary restaurants, or in private families: Average number of stews 560,000 Average number of fries 250,000 Average number of raws 175,000 Average number.of roasts 75,000 Average number of broil s 25,000 Total number of dishes 1,075,000 Along the East River, in the neighborhood of Broome street, there are eighteen large wholesale establishments, and on the North River there are thirty-three similar ones. These concerns do the great bulk of the oyster trade in New

aixty may be boats including some schooners, have amount of business is done with independent boats, whose cargoes are not jnyof thejarger^ol^ale tofind some wholesale dealer whowottld venture to give an estimate of the oyster businessdone in this city, but failed to find ohe Who would say more than that the trade was really enormous, and the number of men altogether employed outside and in the city, in the business of supply, waa beyond his counting to anything like a reasonable estimate. It would be safe to say, said one gentleman, that 100,000 men make a livelihood out of the clyster trade, but the business in not confined to New York alone. The export to the West is about equal te the consumption in this city. Chicago doesj a great oyster business, and the tirade* with the West is increasing in proportion as the population increases there. From Baltimore, also, large supplies are sent to the West. The oyster trade from Vir- ( ginia is immense in the winter months, fully 100 sail of vessels coming into our rivers for the oyster market. The growing proporticmß of the business cannot be accurately measured, but that it-is yearly extending is claimed by all in the trade.* Most people are not aware that there is no such oyster-nowadays the Saddle Bock. Every large oyster may be called the Saddle Rock, but the article of that name long ago disappeared. The origin of the name arose forty years ago, and the designation has since been kept up. At Little Neck, situated about eighteen miles up the East River, forty years ago, or thereabouts, oysters used to be taken from a cove in that vicinity, in which was a large rock called the Saddle Rock,” owing to its formation. The oysters taken from the natural bed here were found to be of the most delicate flavor and of t£e largest size. So .great ycas'the demand for them .that the natural bed soon got to be worked out, and no amount of “ planting” elsewhef* could keep the supply equal to the demand. Within a few years from tbit time the “ Saddle Rocks” had been all gobbled up and fio more were to he found, either on the land or ip the see, nor have they dwelt anywhere, so'far as since know#, except in the fertile imaginations of oyster-saloon keepers. Anatomical scientists say that the oyster is a marine acephalous mollusk of the lamejlibranchlate' order of the genus ostrea.' The shells are inlquivalve, 1 antedated, the upper shell being the smaller and moving forward with age, leaving a grove for the ligament along the adhering valve. The oyster hps no feet, the lobes are widely separated and united only near the hinge. Respiration is carried on with the vascular gills. Without jaws or teeth the oyster separates and selects its food by- means of short labial processes, and is, therefore, unable to feed upon any resistive substance. From the beginning of May to the end of August the spawhing takes place. It is said that the general belief that oysters are not fit to eat during these months is a popular error, started and supported by the oystennen themselves in order to produce a cessation in the demand. The oysterman must have a good knowledge of the tides and of the anatomy of the oysters in order to secure proper planting. Especially has he to observe that he take the oysters from the bed when the tide is running out, so that the fresh water may come down from the rivers at the mouth of the beds and supply the fish with drink, for too salt water make the oyster lean and unhealthy. In-plant-ing, however, the breeders are put in high water; but when the water is too salt it becomes necessary to remove the plantation for immersion in fresh water, the latter imparting, according to the judiciousness exercised in its use, deliciousness in flavor and largeness in size. The moon is the oysterman’s guide. Opinions differ as to whether rocky bottoms are best for oyster beds. Many experienced oystermen believe that a soft, sandy loam, like the bed of the East River, is the most fruitful. Experience is said to show that in transplanting the oyster must he returned to a soil almost similar to that upon which it was bred in the natural bed. Contrary practice has for a result an excessive mortality.— N. Y. Herald.

—ln the warm days of summer, with dust and perspiration, the heads of people, especially of laborers and children, get very, dirty,, and common washing will not remove {his. HereTs a recipe, given me by a noted lecturer on hygiene, which lam sure will please all who use it: “In a pint bottle put a spoonful of olive oil and add two ounces of best spirits of ammonia or hartshorn; shake. Then mix with three ounces of alcohol, and when thoroughly mixed fill the bottle with soft water. Remember to put in the ingredients in the order named, or you will have ‘ stuff’ and no chemical onion at all. To apply, take a spoonful or two of this with a little warm water; dip a sponge or rag in and wet the scalp thoroughly, now rinse off in’ plenty of warm water, and you will he surprised at the amount of dirt, though you may have thought your head perfectly clean. For the heads of young infants it is just the thing, as it instantly removes the dirty scurf without pain or trouble. It should be rather weaker for a babe than for an adult.”— Cor. Western Rural. —Gilding and Silvering Silk Thread.— In a process that has oeen patented in England, gold or silver leaf is rubbed on a stone with honey until reduced to fine powder. The silk thread is soaked or boiled in a solution of chloride of zinc, and, after being washed, it is boiled in water with which the gold or silver powder has been mixed.. When washed and dried it will be found coated with a fine layer of gold or silver, which may even be polished in the usual manner. The Brooklyn Argus says that the song of the mosquito is “ Hum, sweet hum.”